This is the 3rd of a 7 part series on The Risk Principle Simplified.  Subscribe to our blog and get the series delivered right to your inbox.

Now What?

I have a “risk score.” What does that do for me? There are a variety of reasons why the concept of risk is important. It clearly has important financial and public safety concerns. Incarceration and correctional interventions in general, are expensive in terms of financial and human capital. The research is clear that lower risk offenders are, by definition, not likely to reoffend, even if no intervention is provided.

Source: Andrews, D.A. and Bonta, J.L. (2003). Level of Supervision Inventory-Revised. U. S. Norms Manual Supplement. Multi Health Systems. Toronto.

This is the 2nd of a 7 part series on The Risk Principle Simplified.  Subscribe to our blog and get the series delivered right to your inbox.

Why Does it Need to be Objective?

“Objective” means not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased. Prior to the use of objective measures of risk, subjective assessment was used. Subjective assessment of risk is based on a review of the clients’ history and a verbal interview with the individual about their plans and attitudes. In other words, subjective assessment is based on instinct or “gut” and therefore more reflective of the evaluator’s biases and/or the likeability of, or the effective manipulation by, the offender. Objective assessment accomplishes two things:

• Appropriate Focus: In order to measure the likelihood of criminal behavior, we must focus on the criteria that actually led to crime. Risk assessment is helpful only if you are measuring the presence and/or absence of characteristics that actually correlate with criminal behavior. For example, since research has proven that low self-esteem does not predict crime,

This is the 1st of a 7 part series on The Risk Principle Simplified.  Subscribe to our blog and get the series delivered right to your inbox.

The Risk Principle Simplified

Risk: The possibility of an adverse event.

“Risk” is a central theme in community corrections. In fact, I’ll bet that the first four concepts you learned when you entered the community corrections field were something like this:

• Assessment of criminogenic risk is vital
• An objective risk assessment should be utilized
• Intervention intensity should match risk level
• Over-treating low risk clients can make them worse
  

If you entered this field due to your desire to provide treatment to offenders, you may have grown tired of the emphasis on risk with this population. As a clinical psychologist who has dedicated his life to developing and implementing offender treatment programs, I understand your frustration. It can be difficult to focus on treatment in a corrections setting that emphasizes actuarial risk more than individual potential. However, risk is not just an academic concept, and the focus on risk is not ancillary to the treatment goals of community corrections. In fact, the purpose of community corrections revolves entirely around risk. 

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Principle 8: Provide Measurement Feedback

The needle on my gas gauge provides feedback. So does my bank account statement. My teenage daughters’ eye rolls are feedback. When my mother states, “I miss your phone calls,” she is providing feedback. The scoreboard provides a variety of valuable feedback, as does the speeding ticket for driving 84 in a 45. The reminder on my iPhone is designed solely for the purpose of feedback. Feedback surrounds us, but sometimes when we need feedback the most, we cannot find it.

This is the 11th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get this series and the upcoming Risk Principle Simplified series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 7: Measure Relevant Processes/Practices

Last year in a Wall Street Journal article, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates discussed some of the most important lessons learned in his work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in developing countries. He explained, “In the past year, I have been struck by how important measurement is to improving the human condition. You can achieve incredible progress if you set a clear goal and find a measure that will drive progress toward that goal.”

I know of no industry with such hard working, patient people as community corrections. This relatively small, but growing, community is full of people that still believe they can save the world like Mr. Gates. Work ethic and heart keep offenders on the right track, bring families back together, assist mentally ill offenders with the management of their medications and enhance public safety daily. That is the good news. The bad news is that we do not do an adequate job of measuring. The worse news: In some cases, the measurements actually exist, but it is nobody’s job to compile and interpret the data.